Government backs Aussie Synchron to rival Musk’s Neuralink

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Mind readers: The Australian Government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) poured $54 million into biotech Synchron’s latest funding round as it seeks to gain US regulatory approval. The investment forms part of a $305 million Series D round with investors including Double Point Ventures, ARCH Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Bezos Expeditions. Synchron, which relocated from Melbourne to New York in 2021 as it was unable to raise sufficient funding locally, plans to use the new capital to fund its final phase of clinical trials with the goal of gaining US regulatory approval. The NRF said that as Synchron moves from clinical trials to commercial deployment, the company will seek additional funding to help establish a commercial hub in Australia and that its investment contributes to bringing “parts of the company back home”. Unlike Elon Musk's Neuralink, Synchron's implant doesn't require skull surgery, putting it ahead in a growing brain-tech arms race also drawing players like Sam Altman's Merge Labs. (Capital Brief)(NRF)

2.

Climate countdown: The Liberals will decide their stance on net zero emissions by 2050 in the middle of next week, before the party attempts to broker a deal with the Nationals by next weekend. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is scrambling to unite warring factions, amid mounting speculation that her leadership is in jeopardy, and raising the spectre of a second Coalition split in six months. Some moderate Liberals fear she will abandon the target in a bid to save her leadership. In a memo sent to Liberals on Thursday afternoon, obtained by Capital Brief, Ley invited MPs and senators to in-person meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, with a view to agreeing on a shared position with the Nationals on Sunday, 16 November. Ley confirmed the Wednesday meeting will be open to every MP and senator. The following morning, Liberal shadow ministers will meet to “bring forward a submission to formalise the Liberal Party’s policy position”. (Capital Brief)

3.

Island intelligence: Google is planning to build a large AI data centre on Christmas Island, Australia's remote Indian Ocean territory, Reuters reported, citing documents and interviews with officials. The move follows a three-year cloud agreement signed with the Australian Department of Defence in July. While the size, cost and intended uses of the facility are not known, Christmas Island Shire officials told Reuters that Google is in advanced talks to lease land near the island’s airport and has reached a deal with a local mining company to supply energy. The island has increasingly featured in regional military planning, including recent Australian, US and Japanese tabletop war games. Bryan Clark, a former US Navy strategist now at the Hudson Institute, told Reuters the data centre could enable AI-enabled command and control in a crisis involving uncrewed surveillance and targeting systems. He said subsea cables would offer more reliable communications than satellites, which could be jammed. Last month, Google applied for environmental approvals to build the island’s first subsea cable to Darwin, which will be installed by SubCom. Shire President Steve Pereira said the community is weighing the project’s impact and potential economic benefits. (Reuters)(Capital Brief)

4.

Job jolt: US companies announced 153,074 job cuts in October, the most for that month since 2003, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The cuts were led by the warehousing and technology sectors and driven by cost-cutting, AI, and weaker consumer and corporate spending. The figure was nearly triple September’s total and up 175% from October 2024. “Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” Challenger said in the report. “Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market.” Year-to-date, employers have announced 1,099,500 cuts, a 65% increase from the same period last year and the highest since 2020. Major employers announcing cuts recently include Amazon, which said it would eliminate 14,000 corporate roles, Target, with plans to cut 1,800 jobs, while UPS said it had reduced its operational workforce by 34,000 citing increased automation. Paramount Skydance also reportedly cut 1,000 workers. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(WSJ)

5.

Shutdown turbulence: The US government is planning to cut air traffic by up to 10% at 40 major airports starting Friday, as the record-long shutdown puts growing strain on the aviation system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the reductions would relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who have been working without pay since 1 October. The cuts exclude international flights and will begin at about 4% and increase to 10% by next week. Airports under discussion include major hubs such as New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta and come as the Thanksgiving travel period approaches. Shares in Delta, American and United were trading over 1% lower in afternoon trading. The Federal Aviation Administration said there were early warning signs and data pointing to rising risks, and some lawmakers are demanding the agency release the risks assessments. More than 3.4 million travellers have already been affected by staffing-related delays and cancellations, according to Airlines for America. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(NYT)

6.

Fat deal: Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk struck deals with the Trump administration to cut prices on their GLP-1 weight-loss drugs in exchange for tariff relief and regulatory concessions. Trump said the deals will enable Medicare to cover Wegovy and Zepbound for patients with obesity and related comorbidities for the first time, at a Medicare price of USD245 ($379) per month and a co-pay of USD50. If approved, doses of oral GLP-1 drugs will be priced at USD149 per month through TrumpRx, the administration’s new direct-to-consumer platform. Current list prices for the injectables exceed USD1,000 monthly. Both firms have also pledged most-favoured-nation pricing on future medicines. In return, they will receive a three-year exemption from import duties and fast-tracked FDA reviews, Bloomberg reported, citing senior officials. The administration said the deals would be budget neutral within two years, with Americans projected to lose 135 billion pounds in the next year. The move follows similar pricing agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Merck. (Capital Brief)(White House)(Bloomberg)

7.

Freedom of AI: Shadow attorney-general Andrew Wallace says Labor should consider using AI to fix Australia’s broken freedom of information (FOI) system, as its controversial solution faces defeat in the Senate. The government passed its FOI bill through the House of Representatives on Thursday, but it appears unlikely to pass the upper house. The plan would introduce a fee for many FOI requests and cap the number of hours spent on them, though Labor reversed a controversial attempt to ban anonymous applications on Wednesday evening. Wallace on Thursday accused Labor of attempting to ram the legislation through despite widespread criticism from transparency advocates. “If the government is being inundated by the use of AI, well maybe the government should be using AI to respond to these requests”, he said. Technology experts have also stated that AI, which can quickly locate and synthesise information, should play a role in the FOI system, but warned human oversight should remain. (Capital Brief)

8.

Stepping down: Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she will not run for re-election and will leave her Congress seat at the end of this term. The 85-year-old’s departure will leave a vacancy in what has been a consistently Democratic San Francisco-based seat for the first time in almost four decades. Pelosi led House Democrats for almost twenty years, with two stints as speaker under four presidents. In 2007, Pelosi was the first female to be elected speaker of the House. In a video posted on her X account on Thursday, Pelosi said: “I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know I will not be seeking re-election to Congress.” Pelosi was a key figure in the Democrats’ efforts to oppose President Trump, impeaching Trump twice under her leadership. In 2020, Pelosi dramatically ripped up a copy of Trump’s State of the Union speech. (Nancy Pelosi X)(Capital Brief)